


Broken Promise

by Heavenly_Pearl



Series: Spirit of Fire and Other Side Stories [2]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Manga), Sailor Moon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-04
Updated: 2012-05-04
Packaged: 2017-11-04 19:52:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/397586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heavenly_Pearl/pseuds/Heavenly_Pearl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rei's father breaks the first of many promises.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Broken Promise

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: "Sailor Moon" is the property of Takeuchi Naoko.
> 
> This is a side story for "Spirit of Fire", taking place shortly after the end of Chapter 8. It was written for the sm_monthly community at Livejournal - Theme: Disappointment.

From the top of the stairs leading up to Hikawa shrine, Rei sighed as yet another car passed by without stopping.

 _Where is he?_ she wondered. Her father had promised that they would go out for a special birthday dinner together, just the two of them, yet it was already well past six o'clock, the sun beginning its descent back into the horizon.

Rei plopped down on the top step, no longer caring if she got her frilly purple party dress dirty. Her stomach grumbled with hunger. The only thing she had eaten since lunch at school was a small piece of the decadent chocolate birthday cake Miyuki had brought by earlier, not wanting to ruin her appetite for dinner, but she was beginning to wish she had asked for a bigger piece.

"Rei-chan?"

At the sound of her grandfather's voice, Rei craned her neck around. "Ojii-san, where is otou-sama?" she asked. "He promised he would come. Did he forget about my birthday?"

"I'm sure he didn't forget, little one," her grandfather assured her, although Rei sensed he didn't quite believe the words himself. "Fathers never forget their daughters' birthdays. Hino-sama is a very busy man; he's probably just running late, that's all."

Rei pouted. "But I'm so hungry! When is he going to get here?"

Holding out his hand, which Rei reluctantly took, her grandfather pulled her back up. "I'm afraid I don't know, but why don't we go back to the house and have some more of that cake Watanabe-san was so kind to bake for you?" he suggested. "It's getting dark, and I don't like the idea of you staying out here alone by yourself."

"But otou-sama…"

"Hino-sama can come to the door to pick you up. Now, come on."

With one final look down at the road to make sure there were no cars about to pass by the shrine, Rei followed her grandfather back to the living quarters. Inside, he cut her a larger slice of Miyuki's cake, but despite her hunger, Rei only took a few bites, still holding onto the hope that her father would arrive at the door any moment now, his arms filled to capacity with beautifully wrapped presents and colorful balloons that had "Happy 7th Birthday, Rei!" written across them in bright letters.

Of course, he never had before. It was her mother and her nanny Mrs. Yukana who had always taken care of the preparations for Rei's birthday celebrations. On her sixth birthday, her father hadn't even come home from the office until well after Rei had already gone to bed. She, her mother, and Mrs. Yukana had celebrated by themselves.

Still, he promised to come this time, and Rei wasn't ready to give up hope just yet. He had to come; he just had to. She refused to believe what Sayo and her groupies had said in the cafeteria her first day at the Academy, about how her father sent her to live at Hikawa with her grandfather because he thought she was a freak. No matter how cold he always seemed, her father loved her, and he would prove it to her with a special birthday celebration.

As the evening wore on, however, Rei grew more and more discouraged by her father's absence. She even broke down and had some of the dinner her grandfather had prepared for himself, unable to fight her hunger any longer. Just as they were finishing up, however, there was a knock on the door.

"Otou-sama!"

Feeling as if a dark cloud had just been lifted, Rei jumped up from her kneeling position at the table and ran to open the door. She knew he hadn't forgotten about her!

"Happy birthday, Rei-chan!"

The smile that briefly appeared on Rei's face vanished. The man at the door, though his arms were loaded with presents and balloons, had dark red hair, not her father's light blond.

"Uchizawa-san, how nice to see you," her grandfather said, coming forward to help her father's best friend with some of his packages. "Come in, come in."

"Thanks." After handing some of the gifts to her grandfather, Minoru entered the house and slipped off his shoes. "My, don't you look especially pretty tonight, Rei-chan!" he said, giving her one of the helium balloons shaped like "Hello Kitty". "But why the sad face? Today's your birthday. Little girls shouldn't be sad on their birthdays. Smile!"

Rei tried to force a smile, but although she was happy to see her godfather, she couldn't quite hide her disappointment that Minoru had come instead of her father.

"I'm afraid Rei-chan was hoping you were Hino-sama," her grandfather explained. "He promised to take her out for a special birthday dinner tonight, but he hasn't come yet."

"What?" Minoru frowned. "Has Keitaro even called to mention he was running late?"

"Not to my knowledge, although he might have called while Rei and I were outsi-" As if almost on cue, the phone began to ring, startling all three of them. "Well, speak of the devil! That might be him now."

Rei began to run to answer it, but Minoru placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her back. The redhead had a stern look on his face. "Kondo-sama, I know this is highly unusual, but would you mind if I answered that? I'd like to have a little chat with Keitaro."

"Be my guest," he replied, waving a hand toward the hall where the phone was located. "It's through there."

"Thanks."

Even though Rei and her grandfather waited in the living room while Minoru answered the phone, it was not difficult to hear Minoru's side of the conversation. The walls in the shrine's living quarters were paper-thin, and Minoru made little effort to keep his voice down during what sounded like a heated argument, her grandfather having to cover Rei's ears more than once to shield her from profanities. Finally, however, Minoru returned to the living room.

"Rei-chan, your father would like to talk to you," he said, looking rather grim. "I left the phone on the table."

"Okay."

In the hall, Rei brought the receiver to her ear, already knowing what her father was about to say. He wasn't going to be able to make it. If he had still planned to keep their dinner date, they could have talked later, in person. Rei tried not to cry, not wanting her father to know how much he had disappointed her, just like he had disappointed her mother the day she died.

"Otou-sama?"

"Happy birthday, Rei-san," her father said. "I… I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it tonight. I had an important meeting today with the Assembly, and it ran much longer than I thought it would."

"It's okay," Rei lied. "I know how important your job is."

"I'd like to make it up to you, if I can," he continued after a short pause. "Is there something special you want for your birthday? Money is no object. Ask for anything, and I'll get it for you."

It was a more than generous offer, but the only thing Rei wanted, not even Governor Hino Keitaro could afford. She wanted her mother back, alive and happy, and the three of them to live together with Mrs. Yukana back at the manor, just like they used to. However, Rei knew that was an impossible dream.

"You don't have to get me anything," Rei said softly, wiping away a wayward tear with the skirt of her dress. "Really, it's okay. I understand."

"Are you certain? There must be some doll or book or something you want."

"Ojii-san, Watanabe-san, and Uchizawa-san got me everything I wanted for my birthday," she said, even though she had yet to open any of the gifts Minoru had brought her. "I don't want anything else."

"Oh. I see." Her father loudly cleared his throat. "Well, then, I should probably let you go. I'm sure it's nearing your bedtime, and I have work I still need to do. Goodnight, Rei-san."

"Goodnight, otou-sama."

And, with that, Rei hung up her phone and began to sob.


End file.
